


Moth to the Flame

by inthestars



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Sexual Tension, Tiny Gay Laura Hollis, Useless Lesbian Vampire, how do i fanfic, just be together omg, what are these losers doing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-09
Updated: 2015-12-28
Packaged: 2018-05-05 19:25:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5387486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inthestars/pseuds/inthestars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three times Laura really wants to kiss Carmilla and one time that she does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> I need to actually start studying for finals, but here we are.
> 
> (this idea popped into my head today as I was walking home from class in the POURING RAIN, OREGON WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME)  
> (I actually really love the rain)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This whole fic is fluff because I'm trash for it

The rain starts pouring in earnest on your way back to your dorm room. You groan because you aren't even wearing rain boots and suddenly this monsoon decides now is the time to create the next apocalypse. It had rained all night previously, and there is now at least eight inches of water flooding the streets. The rain is slanting in sideways and your hood does little to protect your face from the onslaught. You are wet. You are cold. Your dorm is too far away. 

You grumble to yourself about how you seem to be the only living human outside today as you continue to trudge through the tide of muddy sky water pooling around your ankles. When you look up to see how much further you have to walk, you notice two people about a block ahead of you. One of them is an old woman, you can tell by the slope of her back and the cane at her side. She's struggling against the wind, and the hood of her poncho keeps getting whipped back off of her head. The other person is holding a big black umbrella and reaches out a hand to stop the elderly woman. They talk for maybe a minute before the person with the umbrella pushes it into the woman's hands and walks away. 

The mystery figure happens to be walking the same way you are, so you continue to follow them. You're touched by the kind gesture and it restores your faith in humanity a little bit, especially when the old woman with her new umbrella walks by you with a smile spread wide over her face. You smile at her and gesture toward the retreating person, "Kind of them!" you say and the woman nods enthusiastically, "Almost like a knight-in-shining-rain-gear!" she pipes back at you as she passes.

You stifle a giggle at the little old lady and continue on your way. The would be knight-in-shining-rain-gear is wearing a pair of combat boots and a black rain jacket and you can't tell whether you know them because you can't see their face, but something about them seems familiar. You shake the thought out of your head, though, because the figure honest to god starts leap frogging between puddles that might as well be lakes. 

You watch in disbelief as the person sticks their arms out like they're standing on the bow of the titanic and begins to twirl around, face turned up to the sky. You can't help but smile because you remember when you were a kid how much you used to love puddle jumping on rainy days. It's heartwarming to see someone who hasn't lost the child in them.

You're getting pretty close to your dorm when you realize that you have absolutely zero idea where your ID card is. You begin to rummage around in your bag looking for it and it takes you several minutes before you locate it. When you look back up, the stranger is gone. You swipe into your dorm and begin to make your way up to your room when you run into LaF.

"Hey L, do you think I can borrow your canoe to get to the library?" They joke when they see the rain drops falling off the visor of your rain jacket as you shake off the wetness. 

"Sure LaF, it's tethered to the bike rack right outside the door." You laugh as you walk with them down the hall. The two of you part ways when you get to your room and you walk through the door.

Carmilla is sprawled out across your bed and she looks up at the sound of your entrance. "Hey cutie, you're looking pretty wet." She says and you don't miss the innuendo in her words or the husk in her voice but you just roll your eyes at her.

You and Carmilla have been doing this weird half-flirting thing for a few weeks now, and you're still not sure what to think of it. You like the idea of Carmilla being interested in you, but you don't want to make things weird with your roommate, so you do your best not to give into temptation. 

Carmilla sits up a little and scoots over so you can sit down on your own bed and you roll your eyes again, because really? Her bed is literally three feet away. You sit down next to her and say, "Really Carmilla, don't you have any regard for anyone other than yourself? Why don't you sit in your own bed?" You actually really like having her this close to you, but you know she won't actually move, no matter how much you complain.

"Nah, cupcake, I'm a vampire. I don't look out for anyone but myself." She already has her nose back in her book and she says it even as her eyes glide across the page. There isn't a hint of sarcasm in her voice and you know that she truly believes that. You let out a big sigh and try to make yourself comfortable.

It isn't until you've curled up with your back pressed to Carmilla's leg and you're half asleep that you notice the soaking wet black rain jacket hung up on the post of Carmilla's bed and the muddy combat boots. It dawns on you why the knight-in-shinging-rain-gear seemed so familiar. You roll over to look at Carmilla and she grumbles about having to shift to accommodate your movements.

You're watching her read and thinking about the way she gave up her umbrella for a complete stranger. Your snarky, apathetic, creature of the night roommate is a gigantic sap and she doesn't think anyone knows it. The more you remember her jumping around in puddles and kicking up water into the air, the more happy you get. You think that for a grumpy cat, she sure breaks stereotypes about them playing in water. You break out into a wide smile and she glances at you from the corner of her eye.

"What?" she questions suspiciously as you reach out and tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear to keep yourself from leaning in and kissing her. 

"Nothing" is what you say, but you're sure your heartbeat has picked up because it's swelling with fondness for the girl sitting next to you.

(Carmilla can hear it, but she doesn't say anything)


	2. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, thank you to everyone for the comments and kudos!
> 
> Second, I originally planned on getting this entire story out before Christmas. Unfortunately Finals, cooking Christmas dinner, and being re-united with my sister made that impossible! Sorry for that!
> 
> Anyway, I suppose I should clarify that this is technically an AU. I like to think that this story takes place sometime during Season One in their Silas dorm room, but obviously these events are not canon. 
> 
> Finally, this chapter had originally started out as something else entirely but it didn't work with the way I wanted chapters three and four to go, so this is where I ended up, the next chapter will be a little longer.
> 
> Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas/Holiday season!
> 
> (Please ignore any errors, I tried to get this out quickly)

Carmilla has been invading your personal space more and more lately.

You aren't entirely sure that she is even aware of this fact, but your entire being is keenly attuned to her proximity.

She watches you often; you feel her eyes following you as you move about the room, and you can't say you don't like it. The whole matter is, of course, extremely distracting. Your willpower to resist your attraction to your roommate is quickly dwindling. You understand that your roommate is a _vampire ___, so of course the idea of dating your roommate is absurd. She drinks human blood, for goodness sake, so doesn't that technically make you her food? The cookie you are eating crunches as you ponder this thought.

You pretend like the idea of dating a vampire is out of the question, but you know this is mostly a thought of denial. It scares you that you don't actually care that Carmilla could potentially survive off of you. The thought should be disturbing, but deep down you sort of like the idea.

You shake the thought out of your head, you won't be dating her anyway because she's a centuries old LadyKiller (Literally? Figuratively? Both, definitely both) who is undoubtedly out of your league, so why worry about it?

You grow accustomed to Carmilla's attention over the course of several weeks until it becomes so natural that you hardly notice it anymore.  
___

The door slams into the wall with far more force than you intended when you burst through your room in a fit of rage. Your English professor just gave you a failing grade on your midterm essay without any explanation. You had spent the best part of the last week working on the essay, and consequentially you had lost a considerable amount of sleep. When you went to his office hours for feedback, he meerly shrugged his shoulders by way of explanation and then informed you that he would be wiling to change your grade if you re-wrote your essay and handed it back in by Wednesday. Today is Monday, so you have exactly _forty-eight _hours until your new deadline with absolutely zero idea as to what you need to change in order to get a passing grade.__

__Carmilla glances up from the book she is reading and her eyebrows furrow in concern._ _

__You chuck your backpack onto your bed and stomp around the room until you finally find a cookie and crunch it between your teeth with such force that you're certain that even if Carmilla were a human with human hearing she would still be able to hear it._ _

__"I'm going to regret asking this," Carmilla drawls from across the room, "But what has your panties in a bunch, sundance?"_ _

__Her tone irritates you even more and you glance her way with a glare. Carmilla immediately takes the hint and softens her tone, "Laura, what's wrong?"_ _

__Hearing your name in her low voice immediately melts your annoyance away and you dissolve into a stressed out, emotional mess as you explain how awful your professor is and how he clearly had no intention of helping you despite your hard work._ _

__As you begin to explain, Carmilla moves off her bed. She's in your space in seconds before she guides you to sit at your own bed and takes a seat next to you. She's drawing soothing patterns across your back with her fingertips and you can't remember when it happened, but suddenly your face is buried into her shoulder and she isnt flinching away like she would if you were any other person in the world._ _

__"My dad is going to kill me." You mumble into her shoulder once you've finally regained control of your emotions._ _

__Carmilla says nothing, but continues to trace patterns across your skin, raising goosebumps every place her fingers touch. Neither of you move for what could easily have been seconds, minutes, or hours. You are not sure because Carmilla's presence is so comforting that you lose track of everything except her. The exhaustion from hours upon hours of working on an essay only to receive a failing grade takes it's toll, and you finally fall asleep in Carmilla's arms._ _

__\---_ _

__The room is dark when you wake up. It takes you several seconds before you remember the events from the day and the way you fell asleep. Carmilla, you remember and sit up in your bed immediately. She's nowhere to be found, though, so you force yourself out of bed and sit down at your computer. Two boxes of cookies, several moments of resting your head on your desk in frustration, and three hours later, you have yet to make any progress on your failure of a midterm._ _

__You decide to check your email to give yourself a brainbreak, and because you're hoping that the student center might have sent out an email about free cupcakes in the cafeteria. The inbox says that you have one new message and you immediately feel your spirits lift at the idea that you could at least get a delicious cupcake out of this awful midterm week._ _

__Your eyes narrow in confusion immediately upon discovering who the email was from-- your English professor._ _

_"Dear Miss Hollis,_

_I'd like to apologize for my unfortunate and unprofessional behavior today when you sought me out for assistance on your midterm paper. It seems I was incredibly rude and apathetic in my response to your query regarding your grade._

_Upon further reflection, your paper was among one of the better composed pieces submitted in the class._

_I apologize for any inconvenience my carelessness may have invoked. Your grade has been rectified to reflect the level of hard-work and time you have committed to this assignment._

_I'm sure you agree that there will be no need to bring this issue to the Dean as it was merely an oversight._

_Best Wishes_

Spencer Maybee  
Department of English Literature  
Silas University"

You read the email three times because you don't understand. How could he have gone from completely uninterested in your grade to taking the time to email you about it in just three hours? What could possibly have changed his mind? And why on earth would you ever bother the Dean with this in the first place? Something is missing from this equation and you can't figure out what it might be.

You hear footsteps behind you and then feel someone's hand on your shoulder. You're surprised you didn't hear the door when Carmilla came in, but here she is, pulling your hair back from your neck, which distracts you from your thought process.

"Good news, cupcake?" She asks quietly, and it dawns on you what might have been the variable that changed Professor Maybee's mind. Carmilla. Carmilla, always the wildcard.

You turn around and stand up to face her, she just lets her hands fall to her sides.

"Uh yeah..." you start, as you put the pieces together, "it seems that my professor had a sudden change of heart. Almost as if something, or someone, happened to change his mind about the grade my paper earned."

Carmilla turns and walks to the fridge and pulls out her Soy Tasty box, "Oh? Is that so?" her tone is bored, but there's a satisfied glint in her eye.

"Carm, did you do this?" 

She just looks up at you and raises an eyebrow, "I don't know what you're talking about, creamepuff." 

Carmilla set's a new cup of hot chocolate down on your desk and moves back to her bed.

You know that Carmilla must have gone to see your professor, and you're certain that there were threats and possibly violence involved. It's probably not an ethical occurrence, but you feel somewhat justified when you remember how much of a jerk your professor was. Besides, you did work really hard on that essay. 

It makes you laugh that this big, bad-ass, supposedly uncaring vampire roommate of yours took the time out of her day to go and threaten someone just for making your life hell. You're staring at Carmilla and you both know it, but instead of kissing her like your entire body is begging for, you lean in and kiss her cheek.

"Thanks, Carm," you whisper and you're rewarded with a genuine smile.


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no explanations, I just like snowball fights.

The first thing you notice when you wake up is how cold it is inside your room.

You shiver beneath your blankets and try to will yourself back to sleep. You flip over onto your other side and bury your head into your yellow pillow. It smells like Carmilla, roses and cinnamon. All other attempts to fall back asleep become futile because you know that the only reason she wasn't your first thought of the morning was because of the cold. It scares you how easily she slips into your thoughts these days. 

You hear someone moving around the room and roll over to confirm that it's Carmilla. She freezes at your movement. Her face looks like a deer caught in the headlights for a fraction of a second before it smooths back over into the unaffected expression you've grown so accustomed to. 

"Morning, creampuff. Well this is a surprise, isn't it?" She says as she crosses her arms and leans back against her desk. 

Your voice comes out raspy with sleep when you smooth your untamed hair out of your face and fix her with a confused look, "What's a surprise?"

She rolls her eyes at you, "I would have thought you'd be down right giddy at the amount of snow falling right now."

It takes about 15 second for you to process the words that just came out of Carmilla's mouth. It might be because your mind is still cloudy from sleep but it probably has more to do with the fact that you weren't actually listening to the words Carmilla was speaking as much as you were watching her mouth as she said them (but details).

The floor is hard and cold as you hop out of bed in an excited flurry.

The window glass is cold as you push your cheek against it and try to get as good a look as possible at the snow swept quartyard. You hear a chuckle behind you and force your gaze away from the falling snowflakes to look at Carmilla. 

She's looking at you with something dangerously close to affection and the thought that she might actually have feelings for you chases all the residual cold from your cheeks and replaces it with a rush of blood to color your blush.

(Carmilla coughs and looks away to hide her smirk)

Perry and LaF burst through your door in that exact second. They're both bundled up in heavy coats and boots. 

"Hey Laura! And uh," LaF glances over at Carmilla who has an eyebrow raised and is paying an extraordinary amount of attention to the state of her black nail polish, "hi Carmilla."

"Ginger squad."

You're trying to stifle a laugh that bubbles up inside of you at the way Perry is now layering a scarf over LaF's head so that just their eyes are visible. Their voice is heavily muffled by the fuzy material when they say "Come on tiny human and broody vampire, we're having a snowball fight! Me, Per, and Dany vs. you two and Kirsch."

LaF barely has time to finish their sentence before you've already dawned your biggest, warmest, marshmallow-y-ist jacket, tugged your boots on, and plopped your big warm beanie on top of Carmilla's head. You're pleasantly surprised to find a blush on her cheeks and only minimal grumbling as she tugs on a jacket of her own and follows you out of your dorm room.

The snow is twinkling across the gray sky and piling over the street, the tree branches, and the walls. It crunches beneath your feet and makes your nose go numb. The peaceful silence is perhaps your favorite aspect of a snowy day. The trees calm their rustling, the animals stay inside to keep warm, and the world just seems at peace. It gives you a chance to collect your thoughts and calm your mind. You're standing in the middle of the quartyard with your eyes closed as you take in a deep breath of crisp winter air when the first snowball smacks you right in your stomach.

Oh. Right. Snowball fight.

You hear another dull _smack _and an indignant Carmilla yelling, "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT XENA!"__

__"What's the matter, fangface? Can't take a hit?"_ _

__The next thing you know, snowballs are flying everywhere and you have no source of shelter. Perry is calling out spurratic "OH BE CAREFUL"s and "let's not take cheap shots people"s._ _

__You see it before Perry does. A perfectly aimed snowball thrown by Kirsch. The snowball arcs through the air and the trajectory is so on point that you know Perry has no chance. She is in the middle of chastising Carmilla for using her Vampire speed to pelt LaF repeatedly with an onslaught of snow-amo when the snowball Kirsch sent her way whacks right into her right temple._ _

__Perry's mom expression slides off her face in time with the snow that slips down her cheek. You think there is a good chance she's about to storm back into the safety of her dorm when a steely expression hardens across her features, her jaw line sharpens in determination, her eyes narrow with focus, and there is a coldness in the set of her shoulders that you have never seen before._ _

"So _that's _how you want to play, is it? Very well then."__

She brings herself to full height and nearly towers over the snowman she had previously been using for shelter, and calmly brushes the snow from the front of her mom jeans. 

Suddenly this snow ball fight becomes a full on snow war. Everywhere you look, snowballs are screaming through the air and wreaking havoc. LaF takes a hit from Kirsch as they dive behind a tree. Carmilla's eyes are bright with revenge as she soars ball after ball at Dany and finds her mark more often than not. For her part, though, Dany is holding her own. She doges the barrage and manages to smack Carmilla in the face to wipe that smug smirk out of existence. The two of them are focused solely on each other- a battle to the death.

Perry is everywhere and nowhere all at once. She pops up behind a tree and sends a snowball soaring at Kirsch. It hits him in the back, but when he spins around to retaliate, Perry is nowhere to be found. She reappears near the South Lawn, and lets loose two snowballs, one after another, both of which hit Kirsch with unexpected force. Carmilla is about to roll what could easily be the middle segment of a snowman down a hill to trample Dany, when Perry guides a snowball right into Carmilla's gut. Carm looks up in surprise and narrows her eyes at Perry.

"Oh. So sorry, dear. Maybe next time, you'll learn to pay apt attention at your surroundings." Perry waves her fingers at Carmilla in a way that you are certain is a taunt, before she takes off again.

All the while, LaF has been practically invisible. You wonder if they have given up on the fight until you hear a creaking from near the forest that boarders the quad. You glance toward the direction of the noise and see that LaF has used the fallen tree limbs to construct a snow-catapult. The noise you heard was the sound of a giant snowball being loosed from the contraption and sent hurdling right for.... oh. right for your face. Well this is going to hurt.

You have no time to react so you simply accept your fate and hope that Kirsch and Carmilla will be able to rally and win the snowball fight, you know, for bragging rights and whatnot, when something hurdles into your side at the last possible second. You're sprawled out across the icy cold snow when you look up into your saviors face. Carm is breathing heavily, no doubt from the sprint she just completed to save you. Her eyes are bright from adrenaline and concern, and she is staring down at you intently.

"Laura! Are you hurt? Did it hit you?" She's looking you up and down, checking for any sign of injury. The rapt attention she is paying to your body makes heat rise in your cheeks. You reach out a hand and tuck a strand of her raven hair behind her ear.

Carmilla just abandoned her fight with Dany to save you. You know that Carmilla is strong headed and stubborn and that her feud with Dany is a point of pride. That Carmilla is just itching to put Dany in her place. You also know that this is just a silly snowball fight, but you can't help but be touched that Carmilla put herself in harms way to save you (even if the harm was simply a very cold, very compact amount of snow to the face).

It would be easy, you realize, so easy to just close the inches between the two of you and kiss those pretty red lips. You're not quite sure what is stopping you, but somehow you maintain self control.


	4. Finally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finalllllly.

"Carm, I'm okay," You say, and she relaxes visibly. She's still laying across your body and you realize that you have one arm wrapped around her lower back. You wouldn't mind spending a considerable amount of time just like this. You're lost in the thought of Carmilla when you hear Kirsch calling, "Okay, okay bro! I'm on a team by myself because Little Hottie and Scary Sexy are having a moment!"

"You're just afraid to get hit by our snow-catapult, aren't you Kirsch?" Dany calls. 

You turn your head slightly, because you don't want Carmilla to move when she is looking at you like you're the only human in the world, but you also want to see what's happening with your friends.

LaF is staring at Perry with distinct worry as Perry stands with a snowball-at-the-ready arm positioned over her head, prepared to let loose whenever someone signals the fight is back on. You can tell they are concerned at the way Perry shifted from her usual motherly demeanor to a war machine in the blink of an eye.

"Come on Per, let's go make some Christmas cookies," they say wearily as they slowly remove the snowball from Perry's hand and wrap an arm around her shoulders to lead her back into the dorm.

You look back at Carmilla who is absentmindedly playing with your hair and giggle, "Well, I guess the fight is over now!"

"Guess so," is all Carmilla says. You watch her for a second and begin to shift from underneath her. She accommodates your movements, and soon enough the two of you are walking back to your room.

//

The snowball fight has been over for a little while now but the chill still lingers in your fingertips and nose, so you're glad when you and Carmilla are joined by Perry and LaF, who bring cookies and hot chocolate. Carmilla seems slightly less annoyed than usual at the presence of your friends, and the thought makes you happy. She does, however, disappear after you all have finished your first cup of hot chocolate (or blood, depending on your preference).

It isn't until well after LaF and Perry leave and the sun has dipped beneath the horizon that you start to worry about where Carmilla could have gone. It has been several hours and she hasn't returned. You wonder if someone did something to upset her, but nothing comes to mind. Your laptop is open and a Harry Potter fic is up on your screen in an attempt to distract yourself from worry, when you hear the door creak behind you.

You turn around to see a calm Carmilla leaning her back into the door, arms crossed in front of her, watching you quietly. You open your mouth to ask where she's been, but she is already walking toward you before you can get the words out. She reaches out a hand and practically whispers, "Come with me."

It does not occur to you to ask where and why Carmilla wants you to go. You realize in that moment that you would follow her anywhere, so you take her hand without a word and follow her out into the cold night. When the first bite of cold air makes you shiver from the chill, you regret not asking where she was taking you. More than that, you regret neglecting to grab a jacket.

Carmilla leads you across the dark, snow blanketed grounds to the edge of campus, holding your hand the entire way. She rubs her thumb across the back of your knuckles absentmindedly and suddenly the cold doesn't seem quite so bad. The night is particularly quiet thanks to the snow blanket, but the sky is clear of clouds.

Carmilla tugs you behind an alcove of trees and turns to face you. She bites at her lower lip and your whole body tingles at the sight. She looks nervous, you realize, as she grabs your other hand and says, "Close your eyes."

You trust her so you oblige and she leads you on through the night, through the trees, and to a stop. She lets go of your hand but doesn't tell you to open your eyes so you let your arms fall to your side. After a few moments you call out a confused, "Carm??"

"I'm here, cupcake." Carmilla has moved so that she is standing behind you. She smooths her hands down your arms and her voice sends goosebumps down your spine because she's positioned her mouth right next to your ear.

"Open."

You open your eyes and allow them to adjust to the night light. Before you is a perfectly constructed igloo. An involuntary gasp escapes your lips as you realize that Carmilla just spent the better part of the evening constructing this snowmade masterpiece. You turn around to look at her, eyes wide and sparkling with excitement. She offers you a tiny, shy smile and gestures toward the opening.

You are torn between exploring the igloo and staring at Carmilla so you sort of stutter step toward the snow-home. She chuckles at you and grabs your hand again to lead you into the construction. The opening is tall enough that you can walk through the door without crouching too much, but Carmilla has to duck her head beneath the doorway.

Carmilla has put a tarp down to protect you both from the snow covered igloo floor. Blankets and pillows are spread all throughout the area to create a puddle of cozy warmth. You let out a laugh that comes from your stomach so it's loud and cheery and unabashed. "What?" Carmilla asks and you realize that she's feeling vulnerable, especially because the first thing you did was laugh when you walked into the igloo.

You're still giggling as you turn to look at her and you're trying to stifle it as you say, "Oh! Carm, nothing! This is wonderful, it's just that-" you're covering your mouth now to try to regain control because Carmilla is looking so confused. 

"Just that what, cupcake?"

"It's just that I had no idea you owned so many blankets!" When you finally say it, you guess it doesn't sound as amusing as it was in your brain, but Carmilla just rolls her eyes at you and she looks so much like a cat that's sitting in a corner watching a dog chase its tail that you start giggling all over again.

You handn't noticed before, but there's a little table molded from compacted snow, and on top of it are flasks of hot chocolate, brownies, and cookies. They look absolutely delicious and you've already consumed two brownies before you realize that they're still warm. You've never seen Carmilla cook anything for herself (let alone bake) as she's always either sipping blood from a cup or stealing your take-out. So the presence of these freshly baked brownies are as much a mystery to you as the fact that they are somehow still warm despite resting on a snowy table.

Carmilla lights a few candles and you're impressed that she's managed to build the igloo large enough that the heat from the flame does not melt any of the icy walls. You've always wanted to build an igloo before, but every time you tried, the thing would just collapse down because you couldn't figure out how to make it stick together to make the roof. You glance up at the ceiling now, curious as to how she managed to make it work, and you're shocked to see that the ceiling is missing the center.Instead, there is an opening that allows you to look up and into the sky. Stars twinkle down at you from the clear winter canvas. They fill you with a sense of wonder and peace. It is truly a work of art that she managed to create this place without a center snow block in the ceiling, as you know that the center piece is the most important part of an igloo. It is the same as a keystone to an arch-- the stone that bears the most force and tension and keeps the arch from tumbling down. 

You glance up at Carmilla and your whole body warms with fondness and admiration for this girl. You think that Carmilla is the key-stone of your life now, though the thought is terrifying. Whenever you get into trouble, Carmilla is there to save you. She cares for you when you don't take care of yourself, she endures your worst moods, takes on all ridicule others have offered her. The Dean has tried time and again to tame her, yet she still remains her own person. Ell ripped out Carmilla's foundations, broke the windows in her soul, and set a fire to her doorways. Despite all of the forces that have sought to wear her down and send her crashing, here Carmilla is, with you, allowing walls to fall, while still managing to hold your arches up around you. 

You think of a place your father once took you in Whales. It was called Tintern Abbey and it was burned to the ground under the reign of King Henry the VIII. It is the most beautiful place you have ever been. The walls have crumbled to rubble on the ground, the windows had been smashed out, the ceiling was long forgotten, and the floors were covered with moss and dirt and water, but soaring archways still climbed into the bright sky despite any type of support. They have stood for years and years under the power of their own strength in a beauty unmatched by any sight you have ever seen. That is, until you met Carmilla. You think that if there were ever a place that could resemble a person, that Carmilla would be Tintern Abbey. 

You're staring at Carmilla as she is staring at the stars. She is as much a mystery to you as the stars are. You think of all the lives she has lived, all the people she has known, all the pain she has endured and you feel like you won the lottery because this beautiful, intelligent, kind-hearted girl has chosen to let you in despite it all, and you alone. 

She's still staring up into the stars instead of looking at you, you think because she might be nervous and the stars bring her comfort, when she starts to say, "I just thought that it might be nice to watch the stars, but if you don't want to we can go back to the-"

"Carm," you interrupt and the emotion and affection in your voice when you said her name must have startled her because she immediately snaps her attention away from the night sky to your face. She locks eyes with you and you're lost in a tidal wave of Carmilla. You have spent all semester trying to convince yourself that every kind thing Carmilla has done, every courageous action, wasn't specifically meant for you, but now you're standing in a home she literally built you and you can't deny anymore that you want her. 

Her eyes slide from yours to your lips and you're swept up in her current, unable to resist the tsunami that has been rising in your veins since the day she brought you that ridiculous bat wing bracelet. So naturally, you do exactly what all tidal waves do, and you crash into her. 

Your lips collide with hers and everything else in the world falls away. She tastes like safety and strength and you're intoxicated by her, addicted to her. She slides her tongue across your bottom lip and you immediately respond by opening your mouth to deepen the kiss. You bring your hand to her jawline and marvel at the feel of her soft skin beneath your palm. She slides a hand behind your back and pulls your body impossibly closer to hers until you can no longer tell where you end and Carmilla begins. 

You pull away just for a second to confirm that this is actually happening. That Carmilla is really here, in this snowy wonderland, kissing you. Her eyes stay closed for a second until she opens them to look at you. She's looking at you with such intensity that makes you forget your thought process so you just nervously open up your stupid mouth and ramble, "So... you're super good at baking, huh?!"

You're so embarrassed you start to open your mouth to talk again, but Carmilla just laughs and pulls you in for another kiss.

The stars are smiling down at you and the snow sparkles around you and Carmilla is there to catch you as you fall for her, once again proving that she is the key-stone to your life. Carmilla's lips catching yours, her hands holding you steady, her touch bringing you home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna miss these characters in this setting!
> 
> Thanks to everyone for the kudos and comments! Please feel free to comment and let me know what you all think!
> 
> Finally, if you wanna chat, say hello, or yell at me for the short kissing scene, you can find me on tumblr at: in-the-stars
> 
> (I've also posted a picture of Tintern Abbey on that tumblr for reference to this chapter. It's tagged as Tintern Abbey)


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